My TV Affair...

I have never been a big TV watcher. I went through my phases over the years, the Flintstones and later Saved by the Bell. But I never really could keep up with those weekly shows that you had to follow. I remember friends having ER parties in high school and although I think I went a couple of times I never really kept up. I managed to dodge all of the Bachelor Final Rose parties in college and the Jack Bauer fans with their all night 24 marathons. One Christmas break my family did get my husband and I stuck on Lost, but even that has been too much work to keep up. Up until two years ago I had never even seen an episode of the Bachelor or American Idol. But when I moved to San Fran and started making new friends, it sounds silly but I honestly felt socially excluded just because I had no idea what anyone was talking about. It was like they were all talking about their mutual friends that I didn’t know. So discovering life in the fog, without homework, friends or family near by… I shamefully admit that I gave in that year and started watching… It started with The Bachelor and American Idol because those were the most talked about… one thing lead to another and I found myself sucked into Dancing with the Stars, So you think you can Dance, The Office (which I already enjoyed) then added 30 Rock, and then starting flipping over to Ugly Betty and Grey’s Anatomy during advertisements and being sucked into those too! I fell for the one fabulous season of Pushing Daisies (and loved it!) but then started watching the not so great shows that followed like Private Practice and even a few episodes of Dirty Sexy Money (total trash!), and the occasional Desperate Housewives. And without DVR, my nights were booked watching the television. It was like I had discovered TV and Pop Culture for the first time, it was addictive and unbelievably unproductive. I can’t even imagine what would have happened if I had cable! (But I even rented Gossip Girl for a while to keep up on what I was missing) All of it kept me up late and squandered my time- but I finally knew my who’s who when it came to TV talk with friends and I joined the Final Rose parties and I still talk about Liz Lemon like she is my friend. The writers strike and a new job that started early put a little damper on my vice for a while and I took a step back from it all. I became more selective and then thank goodness we moved into a new apartment a few months ago. Since we don’t have cable or DVR or anything we use bunny ears (our TV is digital) and our new place does not get very good reception. The summer TV Hiatus followed our move and I have purged myself of my TV addictions. Our television has become a black box decoration in the living room and my oh my…. I am loving it! I don’t have a clue what’s in the fall line-up. And I can’t remember the last time I watched anything on there other than an occasional movie. I am loving my life back, my time and my own thoughts and finishing more books. Although it’s sad that they are getting a divorce, I love that I don’t know who John and Kate are! I am fine with being out of the loop on TV Gossip. I know that not all TV is a bad thing, you can learn a lot from certain programs and it can be a good way to unwind. But all in moderation right? Be careful what you let into your home through the channels of the media! I am totally fine with going back to my TV free life. I’m sure I will watch an occasional show, but I will most likely rent or watch online so I know that I am choosing to watch it and not just doing it because it’s on next…

The Need for Need

I can’t recall the details but a while back I heard some interesting advice. When you have somebody who does not seem to like you or is just a little cold and you want to break down the barrier between you… Ask him/ her to help you with something. Perhaps something where they can really offer some support, help or advice (not silly tasks like cleaning up after you, try something you need and they can offer.) And somehow through helping you, they may start to like you a little more. It may sound backwards to the truth we already know in the joy of offering help to others, and not wanting to be a burden. But it can be as simple as asking travel advice about a place they have been. It may seem awkward asking because that person is a little cold but when they realize that they are needed then they warm up a little. You have to give in to your own pride, in case you were holding out and don’t want to ask for fear of feeding the other person’s ego- but the reality is, people need to be needed. Think about it- isn’t there a little emotional high from serving and helping others? So, although it’s hard to ask, you are really offering somebody else the chance at that warm fuzzy feeling, and soon- they will associate that with you. And you are now somebody that they know they can ask in return when they are in need, and soon enough you have found a friend in your previously cold coworker or classmate. It makes sense to me because people need to be needed. Our need for need is what solidifies relationships. Families need each other, friends need each other. People thrive in a work place where they know that they are needed. A good team makes sure that each person is needed. And things fall apart when we stop needing each other. Being needed builds self confidence and motivation. Need keeps us moving through the day and gives purpose to our lives. Of course it is important to be independent and self sufficient, but the man who says, “I don’t need nobody,” probably needs the most. And he probably needs to be needed more than anybody else. We live in a modern world where technology and money fills in for so many of the things we need in life… but these things cannot replace our need to be needed. People are now turning to their alternative realities because they feel needed there. We all need a little help. We have our struggles and our setbacks and sometimes just a need to talk but are all too often afraid to ask. Let it go both ways, reach out, you need somebody and they need you. Be willing to offer, share and serve and you will certainly be needed. Don’t let these needs become a burden when they are really such an opportunity. We all have needs and we all have a need for need. And just remember that need begets love.

Brown Paper Packages...

It started at a young age, walking home from the bus stop and always checking the mailbox. I would peruse the pile of mail, looking for a handwritten item. Of course nobody really sends mail to a ten year old but it was still exciting, and as my brothers and sisters served missions abroad I loved looking for the special envelopes with unique stamps when they would write home. I still unlock my mailbox and quickly peruse every day after work, I love almost anything that’s not junk mail. Postcards, packages, little notes... It’s much less frequent these days since we have instant communication through the Internet, but even there I have learned the excitement of real emails verses spam. I also think that online shopping has made its mark now that I watch people anticipate the day of delivery. It’s much more exciting than buying an item in the store, there is something about waiting to get what you want and not knowing exactly when it will arrive, this anticipation enhances the excitement even when it’s from yourself. And then receiving that brown paper package seems to carry a little bit of magic like opening gifts on Christmas morning. Since I get to deliver the mail in our office, I see people light up as I walk to their desk with a package in hand. And I can’t blame them, because I would too. It’s a funny thing, and this may be the only reason that I ever do announcements or Christmas cards (if I ever do) just for the sake of knowing that somebody is smiling on the other end when they see an envelope with their name and it’s not a bill. I know that I’m a little old fashion, but starting today I think I will start sending more mail… Maybe one thing a week? Perhaps today I will make a trip to the post office for some Forever Stamps (these are such a great idea if you haven’t caught on!) I just love the smiles from snail mail!

Parking & Politics...

I am not a real political person but sometimes I wish that I were. I wish that I had a greater understanding of the complexities of the great Healthcare dilemma and how to solve it. I wish I could keep track of who is fighting who in the middle east and why and how the US should or shouldn’t be involved. I wish I could see a proper balance between the great freedoms of capitalism and government regulation. I am too often guilty of accepting the status quo or sometimes just letting things happen. I wish that I utilized my freedom and my right to vote more often. I want to make more of an effort to understand local, state, federal and worldwide political affairs. This means, I have some studying to do…

But yesterday I found myself thinking about this… I was waiting in the Muni building to resolve some parking tickets. The first red flag was the fact that I had received THREE parking tickets for one violation in less than 24 hours; two of them were within an hour of each other. There wasn’t even time to correct the mistake (the direction of the wheels) and of course I started thinking that parking guy must have been really bored circling the block over and over and my wheels were the only thing he could find so he couldn’t help himself and had to keep writing it up- more/less it was probably just something to do. Wait a second- I think to myself… “And my tax dollars pay this guy?” Hmmm… I realize this was probably just my defense of a scorned parker in the city. But I went to the Muni office to plead my case that I only deserved one ticket, which in all fairness I was willing to pay. As I waited there with my number in hand, A087, I fell into conversation with my neighbor and I commented that I wished I knew that all of the money they received from tickets went to a good cause because then it would at least make it a little easier to pay, right? Then I learned the quite likely true rumor that the whole parking violation department barely breaks even from what they bring in, and have been in the red many times. Apparently they bring in just enough to cover management fees, rent, employee salaries and benefits. So what’s the point? It seems like a big-ole’ mess that takes money from some people just to give it to other people. Sure- they need to create jobs, but couldn’t they do something more productive than drive around their little tri-wheel cars? I understand the need for some regulation but I feel that they may just have a little too much time on their hands, which means- I not only get three times as many tickets, but I am also paying tax dollars towards unnecessary hours worked. On top of this- I recently learned from a highway patrol officer that they are forced to retire after 30 years of service and then they are paid out 90% of their salary for the rest of their lives!!!! The particular officer started when she was 25 and is retiring this year at 55. This seems quite out of date! We are likely to pay these people for another 30 years, half the work and double the pay? And I guess this is how many government positions are, which is why cities and states are going bankrupt. They can’t afford it! They need to make adjustments, just like corporate America can’t offer those kinds of benefits because it’s not realistic or out of their budget- why should the government be any less responsible? Ok- this may all demonstrate how naïve I am to politics, like I said in the beginning; I am not a political person. But when I see the disparity between my pretax income and my take-home, I start to wonder… Where is it all going? What I am I working so hard for if I give half of it away? Perhaps this is just part of growing up, and this is why the people get involved in politics- and you start to form opinions depending on which side of the fence you work on… I can’t blame those who work in Government to want to maintain and reinforce those benefits, but I can’t blame those who work twice as hard and pay twice as much without any personal benefit. I can see how these webs get so complicated and why people are so passionate. So, I think it’s time to get old, and figure out why my state is bankrupt, and my country is in immense debt… when we live in this land of prosperity? They have the means… but are they spending it right? Do you think they have heard of what some call a “budget?”

I chuckle to myself...

Each day I sign my signature for the various UPS, Fedex or lunch deliveries and I think of how I signed a baseball for a little Brazilian boy because through broken English I thought that’s what he wanted, but I was way off- an he was quite confused wondering why I had signed it at all… It was indeed a funny little moment that you had you had to be there for, but now as I sign my name I am reminded, and I chuckle to myself about it each day. Sometimes I laugh as I remember awkward situations. Or sometimes it’s one of my oh so random thoughts… like weird things that would show up in a French film or Japanese cartoon. Like this baby above- (it’s from Spirited Away, it’s only worth seeing because you will laugh later at the thought of how bizarre it was…) Sometimes I imagine myself doing silly things… Like walking into the office and instead of just saying good morning… what if I broke out in song and danced around between the desks… “Good Morning, Gooood Mooorning, Good Morning… “(like form Singing in the Rain) Then I imagine the reaction of all of my coworkers with their 6am tired eyes, not really sure what to think… And I chuckle to myself, even if it will never happen. Sometimes I think about playing practical jokes like on Just for laughs or what about the time I was on a bus and a little girl stuck her tongue out at me… so I did it back? Or the day I Iost my flip flop in the gutter and continued to run errands around town with one shoe… all the looks were pretty hilarious indeed, they all starred but not a soul asked why. I’m not sure why but I kind of love weird things. And I love the little inside jokes that I share with myself because I do love to break up a mundane day as I sometimes chuckle to myself….

If you ever wonder where your time goes...

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/31/business/20080801-metrics-graphic.html This is a fantastic link to illustrate how we spend our day. (also click on the various groups and see how it changes)

Poetry Reading...

Everybody Eats…

30 people, one kitchen, It’s tricky indeed

Many peculiar palettes that we venture to feed.

Hungry and tired one by one they arrive

Waking up in the hours of sixes and five

So Ladies and Gentlemen please take your seats

While I seek to tell you how Everybody Eats…

Carving out bagels is one popular way

That many Watershed folks will start their day.

Each morning they peruse our cereal collection

And are hopefully pleased with our endless selection.

Eggs in her oatmeal is the fancy of one

While others wait for their toast to be done.

Bowls dripping in salsa, egg whites and grilled meats,

Dirty dishes reveal how Everybody Eats!

I too have been caught with my bananas and cheese

And others enjoy counting their calories.

Organic, soy, low carb, and fat free

These healthy requests I often see.

Yogurt and almonds, OJ and Mini-Wheats

Each is an evidence that Everybody Eats!

Mixt Greens, Tlaloc and San Francisco Soups

Are a few of the ways that we feed our troops.

But upon delivery watch out for stampedes

They flock to the kitchen like young racing steeds.

Larb salad, fig pizza, teboulah and more,

Strange flavors and smells we often endure.

Communal pad Thai, curly fries, even beets,

My oh my how Everybody Eats!

One orders the Grande Burritos surprise

And leftovers excite all the scavengers eyes.

York Patties and popsicles must never run out

Or I’m sure to hear some fuss and pout.

Strawberry tops and egg shells are evidence indeed

That our disposal and compost are in great need.

Some like plain spinach while others sneak treats

Evidence still that Everybody Eats.

An afternoon bowl of Special K

Is a popular way to get through the day.

Fruit snacks, Granola Bars and bowls of blue chips,

Eating anything to distract from low market dips.

Crunchy or Creamy, Bonbell or String cheese,

So many tastes are impossible to please.

Redbull, Diet Coke and last but not least

These drinks are all fuel to this Watershed beast

So please don’t forget the Coffee from Pete’s

That awakens the place where Everybody Eats!

(We were asked to write a poem for our work offsite where dinner was followed by our oh so entertaining poetry reading)